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Abstract

Mobile learning facilitates delivery of learning using portable electronic devices. This study investigated the effectiveness of mobile assisted learning in the development of vocabulary and usage of mobile phone. Specifically, the primary objectives of the study were to compare the effectiveness of Mobile Assisted Learning Approach and Conventional Learning Approach with reference to Vocabulary and Usage of Mobile Phone and also to analyze the interaction between treatments with gender and subject background in reference to developing vocabulary and usage of mobile phone. Mobile Assisted Learning Approach was found to be more effective in developing Vocabulary and Usage of Mobile Phone. The study has broad implications for student teachers of the professional colleges. These findings should be taken into consideration educational administrators in secondary and higher education teacher training institutions.

Introduction

The adoption and use of IT in teacher Education have a positive impact on teaching, learning, and research. It will increase flexibility so that teacher educators and pupil teachers can access the information regardless of time and geographical barriers. It can influence the way teaching in the classrooms. It would provide the rich environment and motivation for teaching learning process which seems to have a profound impact on activates of teacher education. So Information technology plays a vital role in developing various skills among teacher trainees and developing competency among teacher educators. (Somashekhara. M & Jagannath K. Dange, 2016).

M-Learning is often defined as learning that takes place with the help of portable electronic tools (Quinn, 2000). A portable device that supports learning may be freely moved, but the learner is mostly stationary, even though they are using a mobile device. Although the device is mobile and portable, the learning as an event cannot be described as mobile. Moreover, when people access information via different tools, there is still much usability, compatibility and accessibility related questions that hinder seamless mobility and m-learning.

The use of wireless mobile technology such as Portable electronic devices, cellular phones, i-pods or ultra notebook computers in education and training is making learning more flexible where students can learn from anywhere and at anytime. Mobile learning is novel in that it facilitates delivery of learning to the right person, at the right time, in the right place using portable electronic devices. In the near future, M-learning will become a normal part of lifelong education and self-directed learning.

Some researchers characterize mobile learning as an extension of e-learning. For instance, Khawla Saidouni and Amel Bahloul (2016) study revealed that both teachers and students of English have positive attitude towards the effectiveness of Mobile Assisted Language Learning. Likewise, both showed their agreement on the potential of MALL as a promising approach for teaching and learning foreign languages. Mohammed Elfeky & Thouqan Saleem Yakoub Masadeh (2016) also prove the Mobile learning was more effective than the use of traditional teaching methods in helping students enrolled in “Strategies of Teaching and Learning” course to achieve better and develop their English language conversational skills. The effect of Mobile Learning on the development of Students' achievement and conversational skills corroborates those findings concluded by Dos (2014) regarding the development of students' achievement and metacognition as a result of Mobile Learning. They also assert the findings of Jabbour (2013) with regard to students' positive attitudes towards Mobile Learning, the enjoyment they had, and the positive learning experience. Wang, et.al. (2009) in relation to the ability of Mobile Learning to convert learners from passive into active ones who were behaviorally, intellectually, and emotionally involved in their learning tasks. Kadirire (2009) defines m-learning as a form of e-Learning, which can take place anytime, anywhere with the help of a mobile communication device such as a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), iPod or any such small portable device. Finally, there are many different m-learning perspectives in the related literature. Each definition focuses on the different features such as mobile technologies, mobility, ubiquitous, or e-learning.

In recent years, the mobile phone has become one of the fastest growing communication technologies ever. Mobile phone use in public presents an active area of social science research. Studies have examined mobile phone use in many settings, including restaurants, grocery stores etc. there is a need of exploring the value of mobile phones in the educational setting. How best these mobile devices can be used in bringing about behavioral and attitudinal changes in learners.

Conventional Approach: Conventional approach refers to the traditional way of teaching wherein most of the time lecture method is used. This method of teaching is textbook centered, teacher dominant, exam-oriented. The emphasis here is mainly in remembering and reproducing facts, principles and theories of learning. This method is by and large being used by student teachers at present.